


in your arms

by aurcras



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Domestic!Zutara, F/M, Fluff, Romance, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, featuring fire lord zuko and fire lady katara, shameless shameless fluff, this is literally a cuddle!fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 18:55:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25710202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aurcras/pseuds/aurcras
Summary: if they're not going to be late, one of them has to move. but neither really wants to, and neither really does.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 177





	in your arms

**Author's Note:**

> this is some shameless, shameless, cuddly fluff and definitely not what i was supposed to update but here we are. i have nothing else to say about this fic except that it's literally just zutara cuddling, so if you want some of that sugary fluff, look no further! enjoy!

It’s midday and this is the latest he’s ever remained in bed. 

It’s not that he woke up late either (no matter how exhausted he was, he still rose with the sun), nor is it that he’s been given the day off (he still has three meetings scheduled in the afternoon he has to attend). Rather, it’s his beloved wife who’s to blame. 

“You know, if you don’t get up we’re going to be late,” she speaks, as though it isn’t her lithe fingers that are curled in his raven locks and her limbs that are splayed territorially over him. He feels her carefully card through his strands of hair, twirling a few growing locks around her fingers, and sees her peek a glance at him. 

She’s just woken up; large blue eyes still blinking away the remnants of sleep, normally tamed chocolate tresses tangled up into bunches resembling a sparrowkeet’s nest, and brown cheeks swollen from a good night’s rest, but she’s still the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen. 

It’s been a while since he’s managed to stay around long enough to see her wake up, and quite frankly, he can’t believe what he’s been missing out on. Soaking up the sun’s rays at sunrise pales in comparison to witnessing Katara’s freshly woken face, and he decides to revise his daily routine from this day forward.

His wife plants a peck at the bottom of his chin. “What will the people say when they find out that the Fire Lord has been slacking off?”

There’s a small, teasing smirk that plays on her lips as her lashes flutter in feigned innocence.

Zuko glances down at her, golden eyes gleaming with amusement. Yet he makes no move to untangle himself from her, instead squeezing her even closer to her side. Times like these he’s reminded just how well she fits in his arms, as though her slender frame had been carefully crafted to fit the edges of his sinewy build like a missing puzzle piece. 

He smiles a little bit, closing his eyes before nuzzling his nose in her hair. Katara smells of the sea; a freshness that tingles his nose, reminding him of his many nights spent aboard a boat. There are traces of deep violet and raw honey in her scent, but nothing as overpowering as the ocean she bathes in. Her scent is intoxicating, a breath of fresh air from the spice and burnt wood characteristic of his nation. 

And not only that, it’s the scent he now firmly links with home. 

“You know,” he starts, voice raspier than usual from hours of misuse, “If you didn’t want us to be late, then you shouldn’t be so comfortable.”

He’s rubbing gentle circles on a patch of exposed skin near her hip as he says this, pointedly smirking when he hears her soft huff. “And what do you think the people will say when they hear that the Fire Lady is the reason the Fire Lord won’t be attending to his duties?”

Zuko flicks open an eye to peer down at her, meeting her vivid, ocean blue eyes. There’s a shimmer of mischief now dancing in her gaze. She doesn’t look away from him, even as she traces her own set of circles in the middle of his chest. 

“You’re playing dirty, you know that?”

He shrugs, not particularly nonplussed. 

“I _can_ be dirty. I showed you that a couple of times last night,” he drawls, chuckling lowly when he watches her roll her eyes. “But I’m not _playing_ dirty. If anything, you’re the one playing dirty.”

Katara gasps, placing a hand on her chest as though offended.

“Me? How am I the one playing dirty?”

But she isn’t offended, far from it. In fact, if the small curvature of her lips is anything to go by, she’s quite amused. 

“I’m not the one stroking my hair.”

He feels her lightly massage his scalp, instinctively leaning into her touch. She’s very good at that. 

“Well, I’d be concerned if you were the one stroking your own hair like this,” Katara says, and to make a point, she runs a skilled hand through his strands again. Only this time, she lifts few bundles of hair at a time and leaves a gentle peck, smirking at him while doing so. 

Zuko rolls his eyes at her antics, lightly pinching her hip. “You know what I meant.”

“Of course I do,” she hums, before raising a challenging brow at him. “But I mean, are you sure it isn’t just that you’re lazy?”

He fixes her with a look of incredulity, wondering if he’d heard her correctly. 

“Me? You’re calling _me_ lazy?”

The thought is laughable. If there’s one way to describe Zuko, it’d be anything but lazy.

He was guilty of spending many days cooped up in his office without taking a break, often trying to skip meals altogether if it meant he had more time completing whatever tasks were assigned for the day. It appeared that ending the war had actually been the easy part. The hard part was really trying to make the appropriate restorations after a century’s worth of war, and maintaining the fragile peace relations was what consumed most of his time.

While they’d been out of war for almost five years now, his work was far from finished. In fact, things had only begun easing up a bit now that he had married Katara. She had brought the balance both he and his nation had sorely needed, and begrudgingly he conceded that his Uncle had been right after all. He had hated the constant reminders of the importance of marriage, especially after the fallout of his relationship with Mai, and he’d been reluctant to consider it much thought. He was both far too young to be a husband, and there was just too much on his plate to entertain the thought of dating.

But Katara had managed to somehow swoop in like an angel; not only had she helped him initiate a number of reforms the Fire Nation sorely needed, but she’d stolen his heart along with her. Zuko had fallen for her, hard and fast when she’d made permanent residence in his palace as Southern Water Tribe ambassador, and he hadn’t looked back ever since.

Plus, if it hadn’t been for her, forcefully dragging him out of his office whenever he got too consumed by work, Zuko would have most likely worked himself to an early grave. And _that_ just wouldn’t have been a good look for anyone. 

“Lazy enough that you’d want to stay in here, cuddling with me.”

As if to make her point, she snuggles up even closer to him, her body almost lying half on top of him. He doesn’t mind though, turning onto his side to pull her into his chest.

“Katara, I’d choose cuddling with you over Fire Lord duties any day."

And he means it. Nothing feels as good as having his wife wrapped snugly in his arms underneath a couple of silk blankets, both of them relishing in each other’s presence. In here, he is free. Free from duty, free from expectation, free from tribulation.

In here, he is just Zuko, loving husband to Katara, his incredible wife. 

She smiles to herself, reaching up to gently caress the scarred of his face. The pads of her fingers trace around his angry red edges, and instinctively, he leans into her touch. When her hand is close enough, Zuko kisses the side of her palm reverently, flashing her a smile of his own. 

“Look at you, always the charmer.”

He shrugs. “I try. But it’s not my fault you’re being adorable.”

His wife’s laugh rings like a melody to his ears, the kind that he can keep on repeat forever without getting sick of it. It’s cheesy, but he supposes that’s what happens when you’re deeply in love, especially if the warmth in his chest is anything to go by. 

There’s a quiet, but not uncomfortable silence that washes over them for a few moments, Zuko relishing in her warmth. Rarely before this had they both been granted time to be alone when it wasn’t time for bed, the demands of ruling a country keeping them apart for hours at a time. He hates when he has to peel himself away from her sleeping form, and the thought makes him cling to her just that much tighter. 

“We’re definitely going to be late,” Katara hums as she buries her face into his chest.

He closes his eyes, resting his chin on top of her head. “Uncle will handle it. We’ll only take a few minutes.”

But the last thing he hears before he lets the familiar pull of sleep lull him into a state of slumber is Katara’s noise in approval, her breath evening out next to him soon after.

* * *

“Where are my nephew and his wife?” Iroh asks when the clock hits the fifteen-minute mark past the appointed time. It’s unusual to see the royal pair so late, not when both were sticklers for punctuality, but given the lack of frantic uproar around the palace, he thinks neither is in grave danger.

The servant in front of him looks more flustered than anything, the poor boy biting down on his lower lip to calm the nerves. He doesn’t gaze directly at Iroh, instead focusing on his shoes. “His and Her Majesty are still asleep, General Iroh. I did not want to make the assumption of waking them, so I came to inform you of their situation.”

Iroh’s brow raises at the news, a little stunned. But no sooner than the shock has appeared that tender glee begins to settle in, eyes twinkling in delight. He flashes the young servant a warm smile, motioning to the steaming cup of tea on his table. 

“That was very good thinking on your part, Shu. Would you like to join me for tea?”

Shu pointedly blinks at the sudden offer, a small crease forming in the middle of his brows. “Tea, General Iroh? But what about His and Her Majesties? Do I not wake them?”

Iroh shakes his head almost immediately, pouring an extra cup of jasmine tea. 

“There is no need,” he answers, turning to a guard standing by the doorway. “Inform the advisors and head servant Hao that all council meetings are adjourned today, and that the Fire Lord and Fire Lady should not be disturbed.”

The guard nods obediently, making haste to find the advisors, as Iroh motions to the seat in front of him. He holds out a cup of tea for Shu, beaming. 

“Now, tea?”

**Author's Note:**

> i'm also looking for more people to scream over zutara or atla with in general, so feel free to hmu on [twitter](https://twitter.com/steambendcr)!


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